Motlatsi Is Alive and Healthy Thanks to a Dedicated Heath Worker

Buang Rampitsana, 39, is the proud mother of two living near Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, a small mountainous nation in southern Africa. She has been living with HIV for more than 24 years and is healthy, thanks to antiretroviral therapy.

In 2019, Buang started experiencing chest pains and tiredness. She also had no appetite and had lost weight, so she visited her local health facility in Loreto. She tested positive for TB, the leading cause of death for people living with HIV.

After two weeks, Buang felt much better and was able to return to her normal activities.

The treatment had an almost immediate effect. After two weeks, Buang felt much better and was able to return to her normal activities.

Contact tracing in the community

Manapo Makubakube is a health worker who conducts contact tracing at the health facility in Loreto—meaning that she visits TB patients in their homes to screen family members for TB.

When Makubakube visited Buang at her traditional Basotho home, she screened Buang’s husband and two children, a 9-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. Buang’s husband did not show any sign of TB and tested negative. However, both children were experiencing flu-like symptoms, and Buang’s son had a prolonged cough.

Sputum test

Testing small children for TB is much more difficult than testing adults because it can be hard to obtain an adequate sample. Buang’s daughter was able to provide sputum for the test, while the son was given an appointment to come to the facility for sputum induction, a technique that helps health workers form and extract a sample.

Buang’s daughter’s laboratory sputum results were negative, but the facility requested that the family take the child for chest X-ray in the hospital for a confirmatory test. This confirmation is important, especially if a child shows clinical symptoms of TB. Fortunately, there was no sign of TB. She was put on preventive treatment to help ensure that she would not be infected.

TB treatment

Meanwhile, sputum results from the laboratory confirmed that Buang’s son, Motlatsi, had active TB. The facility nurse called the family to inform them that Motlatsi should come to the facility to start treatment. The child was given enough medication for two weeks and was asked to come back after he had completed the doses to monitor his condition and to refill the medication.

After two weeks, Motlatsi was doing well, with no cough. He was smiling and bubbly.

After two weeks, Motlatsi was doing well, with no cough. He was smiling and bubbly.  Motlatsi was given a one-month refill for his treatment, and his parents were instructed to return the next month for monitoring.

Thanks to CaP TB

The facility nurse indicated that Motlatsi was the first child diagnosed with TB in their facility since they received a sputum induction machine. The machine was given by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) through the Catalyzing Pediatric Tuberculosis Innovations (CaP TB) funded by Unitaid. Thanks to this support, Motlatsi was identified, tested, and enrolled in treatment on time.

Thanks to this support, Motlatsi was identified, tested, and enrolled in treatment on time.